Impboved



ANDREW CLARK, OF LA FAYET'TE, INDIANA.

Letters Manilva 78,721, dared June 9, 186s.

-IMPROVED APPLE-FABER, COREE, AND -Sl'iIi'lEli elle tlgrhnlr .tefrrnt in it ilgrsritrttrrs tant animating artt rf the rams.

T0 ALL WHOM IT MAY vGONCERN:

Be it known that'I, ANDREW CLARK, of La Fayette, in the county of Tippecanoe, and State of Indiana, have invented a ,new and useful Improvement in Apple-Baring and Coring-Machixies; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enablel others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in whichi Figure lis a-front elevation of my invention.

VFigure 2 is a sectional view of the same through the line z x of iig. 1'.

Figure 3 is a detail front View of the mechanism operating the knife, the quartering-cylinder being removed to exhibit the same. I

Figure 4 is a detail top view of the quartering-cylinder, showing the radial cutters and coring-tuibe.I

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondingparts.

The object of this invention iste produce a machine by means of which apples and other similar. fruit may be pared, cored, and quartered in an expeditious and rapid manner. i

rIt consists-rin the mechanism set forth in vthe following. 1

In theaccompanying plate of drawings, A. is a table, supported by legs B B; and, to this table the mechanism isaiiixed. A Y

The paring-mechanism is supported by an upright, E, rising from the table A, and consists of a vibratingcam plate, R, pivoted to the upright at q, and receiving its motion from the wheel T, by means of a wrist-pin or stud, e, which works in a slot, g, in the lower end of the cam-plate, as shown. The wheel T is toothed, and

` engages with a pinion, b, from which it receives motion, the said pinion bei-ng mounted on the shaft of the wheel G, which shaft has its bearings in the upright, E, and is also provided with ahand-crank, F. By the revolution of the wheel T, the cam-plate is vibrated, as will he evident, the stud e playing in the slot g.

The knife z' is at the extremity of an arm, U, which is pi-votedlto a' vibrating-plate, S, by means of a rod passing through lugs on the plate S, and which are turned up from the plane ofthe plate S. The arm U vibrates on this rod against the tension of spring pfcoiled around the rod, and the knife z' is thereby pressed against the apple, and follows the convexity of the same, Awhen the plate Sis vibrated by the link or connecting-rod h, whichfis pivoted on the stud e, and also pivoted to the plate S, as shown. The plate S, therefore, obtains its motionfrom the wheel T. A l

` The convex profile of the cam-plate R is for the purpose of guiding the knife t' away from the apple on the fork O during the downward motion of the said knife, during which downward motion it is not desirable that the-knife should pare the apple. Therefore the arrangement is such that the said convex profile presents .itself against the arm U at the commencement of its downward movement, and bears the knife away from cuttingcontact with the apple, and guides it around to the base of the apple, when the stud e, having reached the lowest point of its revolution,vibrates the cam-plate in the reverse direction, whereby the convex profile of the same,- from contact with the arm U, thus leaves it free to obey-the tension of its spring ja, and press the knife, with cutting-contact, against the apple, during its passage over the convexity of the same,` from bottom to top.A .Arriving at this latter point, the cam-plate again presents, itself to' bear on the arm U, and'thus the operation is repeated at each revolution of the wheel T, upon which this mechanism depends for its motion.

The forli O, upon which the apple is held, consists of three iiat tines, terminating on the shaft N, the'lower end of which bears a pinion, I, or, rather, a toothed cylinder, the face of which is of suilicient length to permit the downward movement of the fork and shaft without disengag'ing from the crown-wheel J, from`which the fork obtains its motion. v

The crown-wheel is on the shaft M of the wheel H, which latter engages 'with the wheel Gr. The fork thus obtains motion from the hand-crank F.

L are the hanging bearings of the shaft M.

K is a curved spring, against which the end of the shaft N rests, and which returns the fork to its proper position after it has been actuated downward in' coring and quarter-ing theapple, as hereinafter set forth.

o The quartering-cylinder contains the radial cutters c c c c c, extending from the coring-tube cl to the cylinder at the top of the same; The cdr'ing-tube ,deiiects outward through the side of the cylinder, as shown.

The fork-shaft passes .up through the centre of the caring-tube, the bottom of. the vertical part of the latter serving as a bearing for the same. 'r isal-so another bearing for the same. v

The bottom end of the cylinder sets over an opening in the table'A-so that the quartered apples may drop through, and be conducted away by'a hopper or chute, which, in practice, would surround and lead fromthe opening-.buti'which -is vnot shown inthe drawing, totavoidconfusing' the sanne.- v

Thelsashf D C-has a reciprofat-ing vertical movement, which. is attained by the treadle W and spring K, the treadle being connected with the lower cross-piece C by a link,j. The ,side rods ff of the sash worlgin guides, o o, and holes in the table. 4 I. 'l

An enlarged section of the knife is shown at Figure 5, in which lis the cutting-edge, m the plate of the knife, to which the same is aihxed, and U the arm. The plate m is formed with lgs, which are pivoted to corresponding lugs on the arm, as shown at n.

The operation of this machine is as follows: y

vAn apple, P, is placed on the fork, and pared by turning the crank F, which is further turned until the knife is brought to the position shown at iig. A2. lAnother (unpared) apple, Q, is placed above, (in contact with the irst,) and the trcadlc pressed upon with the foot, when the cross-piece D impinges against the top of the second apple, bearing it and the fork downward, whenthe pared apple encounters the coring-tubo'and theradial cutters, whereby the appl'ehis cored out and divided into several'parts, usually called'quarfers, which fall down through the opening iu the table, and are conducted away, as before said. The seeds and seed-capsules are delivered out at the lowerendof the tubeld. The second apple is left on thefork. Y

Modifications of the several parts of my invention may be made." For example, the pinion I may bemade with a key-slot, in which a rib or feathers ou the. shaft t,'so that the latter lmay play up and through the pinion without disengaging from the'crown-wheel. A

`The vsash may consist olf a single rod, with a projecting cross-piece, and the mechanism o f the knife, and the arrangement and operationof the camlplate, may be variously modified without materially departing from the principle'of the invention. v l l v I am aware that many machines for this purpose have been made, and do not claim broadly any of the devices above shown but I will note, in reference to theop'eration of the fork, that its downward movement is limited to the coring and quartering of the apple, audit doesnot descend entirely within the tube, but stops at a point above th'e same, wherebylthe-second apple, being forced down, is transiixed upon the fork, when, 'the vfoot being removed from the tren-die, the machine is ready to be turned again. The operation is thus repeated indefinitely. v

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The cam-plate R and its dependent mechanism, substantially as described, for the purpose of'. paring apples and other similar fruit, all as set fort-h. y

2. A sash, Dff C, and a yielding fork, O, with its. proper mechanism, substantially as described, in com; bination with the radial cutters c, coring-tubc d, and cylinder V, all as set forth-l l 3. The cam-plate R, wheel T,'pla.t e S,- an'd arm U, all constructed and operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth. u Y y l 4. The arrangement ofthe several parts ofthe machine, substantially asshown and described, and for the tf th. purpose se or p ANDREW CLARK.

Witnesses:

B. K. HIGINBoTnAM, JOHN A. STEN. 

